1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system for determining the position of an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
The remarkable, often astonishing, physical skills and feats of great athletes draw millions of people every day to follow sports that range from the power of football to the grace of figure skating, from the speed of ice hockey to the precision of golf. Sports fans are captivated by the abilities of a basketball players to soar to the rafters, of a baseball pitcher to overwhelm the best hitters in the world, of a runner to explode down the track, etc. In televising these events, broadcasters have deployed a varied repertoire of technologies--ranging from slow-motion replay to lipstick-sized cameras mounted on helmets--to highlight for viewers these extraordinary talents. Not only are fans intrigued and excited by the efforts of athletes, their comparative abilities become topics of endless debate at water coolers, in sports bars, on the Internet, etc.
One piece of information that has never been available to fans of sports like basketball is the height that a player reaches in his or her vertical leap. Such information will not only create a statistic that reflects a critical athletic skill--jumping ability--but will also provide announcers with information that will enhance their analysis of the game. Subtle variations in different players' leaping ability, now verifiable, may explain rebounding strength or defensive domination. It will allow fans to see how great players without a spectacular leaping ability compensate with other strengths like positioning and timing. This information will be of tremendous interest to basketball fans, and to date there have been no successful attempts to provide such information during the telecast of a game.
Fans of other sports, like ski jumping, figure skating, and many more, will benefit from the information about leaping ability. It will quickly join other popular statistics like running speed and throwing distance in adding to viewers' appreciation of an athletic event.
Therefore, a system is needed that can determine the height that an athlete reaches in his or her vertical leap.